SEEDS & SPROUTS 24 AUG 2013

SEEDS & SPROUTS. “I have come to give you life & life more abundantly.” God’s manna was compared to a seed (NUM 11:7). Ezekiel bread was made w/ sprouts. Seeds & sprouts, which are living foods, have been used for medicine & as power foods since the earliest times. Sprouted seeds (such as mung bean sprouts) were prescribed by Chinese doctors 5,000 yrs. ago (as recorded by a Chinese Emperor in 3,000 B.C. in a medicinal book). Later, 2,000 yrs. ago, the Chinese mention soy sprouts as medicine. In DAN 1:12,16, we read of the prophet Daniel, known for his incredible wisdom & integrity, asking the king to eat “pulse” (KJV) which was seeds, rather than the King’s rich food. Here the original word translated “pulse” (KJV) or “vegetable” (NKJV) is “zeroa” (from the Heb. & Chaldee word for seed “zera”). Various Bible scholars figure Daniel ate sprouts, perhaps lentil sprouts as well as other kinds of sprouts. Lentil sprouts have been used a long time…and cont. their wide use in places like So. India. Lentils have a history said to be 9,000 yrs. old, & a 4,000 yr. lentil seed was successfully germinated in 2009. That beats the date palm seed found in Masada, Israel which was 2,000 years old & germinated in 2005. In non-Biblical writings that quote Jesus (Yahshua): one source quotes him saying that lentils are important, & in another source he strongly advocates the eating of sprouts for improving one’s spiritual walk. But don’t be like Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of cooked lentils! . Everything we eat or ingest has an effect on not just our bodies but our brains, & consequently our minds. You realize that, because you drink coffee to be alert, and chocolate to feel good. Seeds & sprouts help the body be alkaline—which does all kinds of incredible positive things. Sprouts have amino acids & other important ingredients for our bodies. Seeds are not easy to digest unless they are sprouted. So it is no surprise that the Hunza in Pakistan, who base their diet on sprouts, have one of the highest rates of centenarians on the planet. They are reported to have remained cancer-free for the last 900 years, even though they often live healthy lives to 100. We have all heard about Capt. James Cook & the British navy using limes for their sailors, but they also used sprouts to keep them healthy. Instead of “limeys” maybe their sailors should have been called sprouts. . Besides protein, essential amino acids, enzymes & other nutrition, sprouts are one of the best sources of energy. Enzymes are essential for digestion & metabolism. Raw sprouts digest easier than cooked food, which spares the pancreas (& liver) of stress. . There are many exciting seeds that make great sprouts—like the powerful Chia seed from Mexico. Other seeds that can be sprouted incl. almonds, alfalfa, amaranth, buckwheat, fennel, kamut, lemon grass, oats, parsley, sesame, sunflower & wheat. Seeds can be sprouted at room temp using a sprouting jar w/ screen, & then rolled into crackers & sunbaked. At my house, the thermal heat of a parked pickup window provides enough low heat & sunlight to bake some raw nutritious sprout crackers & multigrain granola (perhaps w/ 12 raw sprouts). By the way, cooking over 115 degrees destroys all the enzymes of the food, & according to researchers (for instance, see Prof. Francis M. Pottenger’s studies) cooked foods contribute to many degenerative diseases. It does make one wonder why people need to cook their food, when every animal alive eats their food raw. Perhaps by cooking our food, we overcook it, if you’ll pardon the pun. . Survivalists, or prudent persons, aware of the time we live in, may want to get seeds because they have a dual role, they can be used to plant, or they can be sprouted for a power food. Once the seeds are ground into flour they can start going rancid & having moths infest them, etc. Seeds themselves can be preserved by storing them in a dry place w/ bay leaves. Grinding is easier when seeds have been soaked, so it makes sense that in Biblical times, the locals soaked their seeds before making them into bread, rather than employing the large mills that are used in the modern world. For instance, tortillas are made daily by soaking corn seed in lime water before grinding it. . My goal w/ this post has been to give you life, and life more abundantly (in line w/ Christ’s goal). Where so many of us are outside of the World System & responsible for our own health, the ability to stay strong will clearly give us more independence & spiritual power.